Split Second
by Violently Red
Summary: Red. Red and yellow. And black. And a lot of red. She screamed when the ambulance arrived and they had to use the paddles. Spitfire, some blood, and lots of hurt/comfort.


It was a split-second thing. Wally watched her flung off the building roof, sailing through the air. And in that split second, he realized that he was NOT going to let this happen.

She was a flight risk, an angry, stubborn, driven ball of fire wrapped in blonde hair. And hate her as he may, he was not going to let her fall off of this seven-story building.

So he did the most logical thing he could think of.

He jumped right after her.

He caught one of her hands, and for a split second, she stared into his eyes, fear and hatred and disbelief shining clear. Then they were jolted to a halt when Wally's ankle was caught in the metal bars of a fire escape. They swayed in the cold Gotham night, angry traffic blaring in the background.

"What the hell are you doing?!" She yelled frantically.

"Saving your ass," he ground out. Artemis looked up, and saw that his foot was facing the wrong way. She quickly concluded that that was not good. "Gimme your other hand."

With some maneuvering, they were able to grab eachother' s hands. He was the only thing making sure she didn't fly to the ground. He could see the terror on her face. "Wally, why are you doing this? Why the hell did you come after me?"

"Cause, contrary to popular belief, I don't want you to die. On three, I'm going to pull my ankle out, and you're going to flip around so I'm closest to the ground."

"WH-"

"THREE!"

They sailed through the air, and he yanked her up. They were going to die. She knew it. And it was her fault. She was pressed closely, his arms around her, and suddenly the ground was there.

She opened her eyes. Yellow. Yellow and red. And black. Black asphalt.

She rolled to her side. She was okay. Not hurt. Everything was intact. But who-

"KID FLASH!"

There was blood. A lot of blood. His head was crooked. He had a bloody nose. And he was bleeding from his head. She was freaking out. He was pale. He was struggling for air, and she almost cried with relief when she saw he was still breathing.

Breathe Artemis. Breathe. Call for help.

"Artemis to team," she said, trembling. "Artemis to team, KF is hurt."

The earpiece buzzed. "Aqualad to Artemis, where are you? REPEAT, what is your location?"

She realized she was crying. "In the alley next to the Star Labs building."

"Aqualad to Artemis, how-"

"Just come!" She cried, voice breaking.

"We will be there as soon as possible."

The line was cut, and she grabbed Wally's hand. He was taking shallow, quick breaths. The blood was pooling even more.

"Aart..."

"Shh," she soothed, tears streaming down her face and breath fogging in Gotham winter. "I'm here. Don't try to talk, okay, don't move. Don't move."

His eyes became unfocused. "Hurss..."

"I know, shhh, it's okay. I know. Stay with me here, okay?"

His eyes slipped closed.

"No... n-noooo..." she put a hand to his neck. There was still a weak pulse, and she let out a choked sob. "Wally, wake up, stay with me, you're gonna be okay, PLEASE!"

She still held his hand. "Please," she whispered.

She didn't notice the team showing up. Robin called 911. She screamed when the ambulance came and the EMT's had to use the paddles. Conner wouldn't let her look after that. He pressed her to his chest, and she sobbed hysterically into his shirt and tried to turn around, and he just held her. She heard the ambulance drive away, and by then, Conner was practically holding her up. Kaldur had went in the ambulance, and M'gann had pulled the bio-ship around. Conner picked her up, and Robin came in the back room with her. She was set down on a cot, and Robin sat next to her.

She was still crying when Robin pulled her into a hug. "You gotta calm down, Art."

She couldn't. He was going to die, it was her fault, he was hurt, he wasn't gonna be okay...

"Artemis, look at me." She shook her head, sticky tears dripping down her jaw. He cupped her face with an un-gloved hand. "Artemis, LOOK AT ME."

She looked up at the sternness of his voice. "You have to calm down. Take a deep breath with me." She took a deep breath, in through her clogged-up nose. She shakily let it out. She was still trembling, and Robin told her to do it again. After a few times, she wasn't hysterically sobbing anymore. Her head was on Robin's shoulder, and he was approvingly rubbing circles on her back.

M'gann came back a little while later and told them they had arrived at the hospital. The four of them walked in together, and a nurse ushered them into the ICU waiting room. They had comfortable chairs, and M'gann brought her a box of tissues. She was a bit more clear-headed now, and most of the crying had subsided.

Green Arrow came, along with Batman, Canary, Wonder Woman, Tornado, and Flash. Canary went and talked to M'gann and Conner, while Ollie pulled her into a hug.

"Hey kid," he said softly. "You okay?"

She nodded, and they sat down on a cushioned waiting room couch.

"Can you tell me and Bats the whole story?"

She told them what happened, and Batman went to go talk to Flash, who was nervously pacing and talking to Wonder Woman.

She was still next to Ollie when Red Arrow came in.

Ollie got up and briefly filled him in. He nodded and walked over to Artemis. She sat up straight, acting like she hadn't just seen a close friend fall to his almost-death to save her.

"It's gonna be okay, Replacement," he said, patting her hand. She nodded, not knowing what to say. Robin walked over and sat next to them. He was looking a little worse-for wear, and he put his head on Roy's shoulder. Artemis watched as Red Arrow put his other arm around the kid.

Artemis sighed. The whole situation caught up with her, and she leaned her head back on the couch cushion. She felt ashamed for breaking down so easily, but pride was the last thing on her mind as she closed her eyes. She faintly registered Roy gently pulling her head to lean on his shoulder as she lost the battle to sleep.

**Reviews? Thoughts? Should I continue?**


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